Drum head tensioning device



April 25, 1955 J. D. FENDLASON, SR 2,706,925

DRUM HEAD TENSIONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 27. 1952 Jason D. f-Zwa'lason Sn JNVENTOR. da Altm'ntys BY W April 26, 1955 Filed Oct- 27, 1952 DRUM HEAD TENSIONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

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Maw 8m United States Patent DRUM HEAD TENSIONING DEVICE Jason D. Fendlason, Sr., Bogalusa, La. Application October 27, 1952, Serial No. 317,055 1 Claim. (Cl. 84-413) The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in tensioning devices for percussion drums to uniformly tighten the drum heads.

An important object of the invention is to provide a drum head tightening device whereby the entire circumference of the two heads of the drum may be simultaneously and uniformly tightened or loosened by means of a single adjusting screw.

Another object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in facture and otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which the same is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter de scribed and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the tightening position of the tensioning links.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a line 4-4 of Figure l and Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified construction.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 represents the drum shell having head retaining hoops 6 and 7 sleeved over the opposite ends of the shell for holding the heads 8 and 9 thereon, the hoops being adjustable toward each other inwardly or outwardly on the shell to adjllllStllihe tension of the heads on the adjacent ends of the s e A plurality of brackets 10 are formed with hooks 11 to engage the respective hoops and the inner ends of the brackets are bifurcated, as shown at 12, in which the outer ends of tensioning links 13 are pivoted on pins 14. Connectors 15 are bifucrated at each end in which the inner ends of the links are pivoted on pins 16 to connect the brackets and links in pairs positioned vertically on the drum at circumferentially spaced apart intrevals.

Resilient rods 17 are threaded or otherwise suitably secured in the opposite sides of the connectors 15 to form a tensioning ring 18 extending circumferentially of shell 5 adjacent the center of the drum and each rod 17 is slidable in a guide 19 suitably secured to the outer surface of the shell.

operation, relatively inexpensive to manu- 2,705,925 Patented Apr. 26, 1955 One of the connectors, designated at 20, is provided with a rod 17 at one side only of the connector and the rod 21 of an adjacent connector is slidable through an angle bracket 22 which is secured to the outer surface of the shell, and a thumb nut 23 is thread on rod 21 to bear against bracket 22 and to subject the tensioning ring formed of the rods to a pushing or pulling force to swing links 13 and connectors 15 in a toggle action to tighten heads 8 and 9 of the drum when the links are moved into a position as shown in Figure 3, or to loosen the heads when moved into a position as shown in Figure 1.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 5, a pair of tensioning rings 24 and 25 are provided and are each connected to sets of toggle links 26 and 27 and connectors 28, as heretofore described. The inner ends of the sets of toggle links and connectors 26 and 27 are pivoted to stationary brackets or plates 29 suitably secured to the shell 30 of the drum, while the outer ends of the sets of toggle links and connectors are pivoted to brackets 31 hooked over the hoops 32 and 33. The pair of tensioning rings 24 and 25 are individually adjusted in the same manner as single ring 18 of Figure 3.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary However, since numerous modifications and changs will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

In a drum head tensioning device, a plurality of toggle members adapted for mounting at the periphery of a drum and each including a connector having a pair of links pivoted thereto and extending outwardly therefrom in opposite directions toward the respective top and bottom drum head hoops of the drum, a drum hoop engaging member pivoted to the outer ends of said links for attaching the toggle members to the respective hoops, a sectional ring of round cross-sectional construction adapted for embracing an intermediate portion of the drum and including a plurality of intermediate ring sections threadedly connected to adjacent connectors, said ring also including an end section threadedly connected at one end to one of the connectors and having a threaded free end portion, a bracket attached to the drum and in which the free end portion of said end section of the ring is slidable, and an adjusting nut threaded on said free end portion of the ring and abutting the bracket to contract the ring for tightening said toggle members on the drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 583,372 Henderson May 25, 1897 594,691 Henderson Nov. 30, 1897 2,074,193 Strupe Mar. 16, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 74,665 Germany Apr. 18, 1894 178,045 Germany Nov. 5, 1906 

